Jitters struck Johanna Konta, but the 22nd-seeded Brit weathered the internal storm to reach the Wimbledon second round.

Konta squandered five match points in the second set tiebreak and was nearly forced to a third set before subduing 103rd-ranked Natalia Vikhlyantseva, 7-5, 7-6 (7).

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"I continued to crack on," Konta told the media afterward. "Nerves are going to be there. Nerves are there for everybody. I am definitely not special in that sense.

"But, no, I think I competed well. I dealt with the occasion. If it was going to split and go into a third, I was going to continue to compete, I was going to fight very hard."

Arriving at SW19 a year after she became the first British woman in 39 years to reach the Wimbledon semifinals, Konta bears the weight of a nation's expectation and the equally profound pressure of defending 780 ranking points with her final four run last year.

Hall of Famer Chrissie Evert believes Konta's ability to manage her nerve and swing freely at crunch time will be key to her success this fortnight.
 
"She's a very, to me, kind of a nervous type of player," ESPN analyst Evert told the media in a conference call to promote the network's Wimbledon coverage. "She's got the shots. On paper, you watch her, you'll marvel.

"She has a good serve, good groundies, a great all-around game. I think she just gets a little fidgety and hyped and nervous at times. I think that's one area she's been working on."

Three-time Wimbledon winner Evert says Konta's work with a sports psychologist has been beneficial, but believes she's been too tight at times posting a 17-14 record this season.

"She seems the last few years to be working on the mental part of the game, getting a sports psychologist," Evert said. "I think she has to continue working on that aspect of the game because she's still not there playing with the freedom that you need to play.

"The top players play with sort of a relaxed freedom. They have the trust in their shots. I feel like she's a little tense. She had a great summer last summer, then all of a sudden some bad losses. I think that's going to take away a little bit more confidence. It's really up to her. She's got to talk to herself. She has to believe. She has to relax, play with a new kind of freedom, see how that goes."

Konta can expect a second-round battle from two-time quarterfinalist Dominika Cibulkova, who was scheduled to be the 32nd and final seed but was bumped from the seedings by the tournament elevating Serena Williams to the No. 25 seed.

"I'm looking forward to it," Konta said. "She's probably one of the best competitors on tour, has been for quite some time. She's a feisty player. I think it will be a great test for me to keep a good kind of focus on controlling what I can, accept that she's going to fight her way into some points and really stay there until the very end."

Photo credit: Rob Newell/CameraSport